Asilomar - "But I've still got some sand in my shoes..."

 

Remember that song from The Drifters in the early 60's? It was a followup to the hit "Under The Boardwalk."  Summer over, summer love over, memories over, but I've still got some sand in my shoes...

Had a wonderful week at the Empty Spools Seminar in Libby Lehman's class at Asilomar. There were about 18 of us in class, and we learned some great tips from Libby, who is also a Bernina Educator. The weather was fantastic, and I walked on the beach every day.

I actually added that little top rock, which is a lot harder than you might think. Just sayin'.

I was not happy when Aramark took over management of Asilomar a few years ago. You know, big corporate giant taking over management of "The Refuge By The Sea." But I must say, they have made so many nice improvements, and so far, still kept that unique small quality. First of all - SIDEWALKS! Previously pedestrians just shared the road with cars. I've never seen an accident, but I'm sure there have been plenty. Second of all - SIGNS! I can't tell you how much I have wandered around Asilomar looking for a building. A friend was going to meet me last week and she said, "You are going to have to come out to the street, because I am not driving around that maze." And they have maps (energy saving maps that light up when you walk by at night!) and directional signs (Scripps, this way. Lodge, that way.) Third of all - much better food, although that's up for debate. Usually by about the third day, I could not stomache the food at Asilomar and would eat offsite, but it is vastly improved in my opinion. When I made that observation one day, some of the women at my table said it was "homier" before. The recycling of food is hilarious, though...Pork Loin for dinner Monday night, Sweet and Sour Pork for lunch Tuesday. Steak for dinner Tuesday night, Steak Salad for lunch Wednesday. But they have vegetarian choices now, lots of salads, and well balanced meals. And new mattresses!  Don't get me wrong - it's still "rustic." No televisions, telephones in the rooms, wood floors that creak like my old bones...but at least it is rustic, and not just run down and decreptic.

So in class, we were able to choose from several of Libby's projects. I worked on the Pinata Quilt. In my quest to not have any more UFO's, I chose to work on a small version and do a larger version later. And if later never comes, I won't have yet another unfinished project. You work with the circular attachment to achieve this result. I didn't finish putting it together, but here it is on the design wall:

 

We took the red eye coming back Tuesday night...I'm still trying to recover from that! The sunrise was beautiful...hard to get a good shot from the plane (especially after you are supposed to have turned off all electronic devices.)

 



 

I'll be home until the end of the month, when I go to the quilt show in Paducah for the first time. Good to be sleeping in my own bed!

 

What's the difference between a skinny quilter and a fat quilter? A skinny quilter comes home from work, sees what's in the refrigerator and goes to bed. A fat quilter comes home from work, sees what's in bed and goes to the refrigerator. - Joke told by Libby at Asilomar.